Recently in many online discussions I have seen that people
use many different definitions for different points of view or currents within
the Catholic Church. In order to bring a bit more structure into these
discussions and because there seems to be a polarisation of opinions within
the Catholic Church during the pontificate of Pope Francis, I though it useful to
propose definitions for the different factions or currents of thinking.
In fact, one can pose two questions which divide the opinions
within the Church in the 21st century into four groups, depending on
whether these questions are answered with a “yes” or a “no”. Here are the two
questions:
1)
Was the Second Vatican Council as expressed in
all its documents a hermeneutic rupture with the tradition and the magisterium
(teaching) of the Catholic Church?
2)
Are the reforms that followed the Second Vatican
Council especially the liturgy reform a negative development that weakened the
Church?
Those who negate both statements are best called “neoconservatives”. They believe the Vatican
II to be in hermeneutic continuity with tradition and they believe the reforms
of the Vatican council to be a positive development, especially the liturgy
reform. Prominent representatives of this position are Bl. Pope Paul VI., Pope
John Paul I, Saint John Paul II. and
Cardinal Mueller the current prefect of the congregation for the doctrine of
the faith. The neoconservatives tend to hold to moral positions as defined in
the 1990 catechism of John Paul II. and do not want a further change to these
positions. They are not fond of the old form of the liturgy and will tolerate
it at best but do not wish for the old liturgy to be celebrated more widely.
Those who negate the second statement but not the first are
best called “liberals” or “modernists”. This means they believe that exactly because
Vatican II was a break with tradition the reforms that followed the council were
positive and the even more reforms need to follow. This group of modernists
often invokes the “spirit of the council” an unclear concept that spurs on to
further thinking about reform of the Church and of its rituals. In this group
belong the current Pope Francis as
well as Cardinal Kasper and some of the 8 chosen advisors of the current Pope,
for instance Cardinal Marx of Munich.
Those who negate the first but not the second statement are
best called “Conservatives”. They
believe the council is in continuity with tradition but they also believe that
some of the reforms following the council where an over-interpretation of the
intention of the council. The conservatives believe that the old form of the
liturgy needs to be more widely celebrated also as an inspiration for the new
form of the liturgy. They believe in a "reform of the reform” of the
liturgy to create a liturgy more in keeping with the tradition of the Church.
Prominent exponents of this position are the Pope emeritus, Benedikt XVI. , Cardinals Burke, Brandmueller,
Castrillon-Hoyos as well as the Institute of Christ the King (ICRSS) and the
Society of St. Peter (FSSP).
Those who affirm both statements are best called “traditionalists”. They believe that
Vatican II. was a rupture with tradition and the reform following it were a
negative development that weakened the Church and the faith. They will on occasion
question whether the new form of the Mass and sacraments are actually valid.
They do however except the primacy of the Pope and hence are not
sedevacantists. The most prominent exponents of this position are Archbishop
Lefebvre, the founder of the Society of St. Pius X., the society of St. Pius X.
itself as well as its current superior general, Bishop Fellay.
